1. Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relates to electronic devices, and more particularly to cooling electronic devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mobile devices such as cellular telephones, smart phones, and other handheld or user electronic devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), headsets, MP3 players, etc. have become popular and ubiquitous. As more and more features have been added to mobile devices, there has been an increasing desire to equip these mobile devices with input/output mechanisms that accommodate numerous user commands and/or react to numerous user behaviors. For example, many mobile devices are now equipped not only with buttons or keys/keypads, but also with capacitive touch screens by which a user is able to communicate to the mobile device a variety of messages or instructions, simply by touching the surface of the mobile device and/or moving the user's finger along the surface of the mobile device.
Mobile electronic devices are incorporating processors that operate at higher speeds, have more sensors, have higher-bandwidth functionality, and include larger displays. In support of this higher performance, electronic devices are expected to dissipate increased amounts of thermal energy. In mobiles, a thermal resistance network to dissipate the heat is greatly restricted by the outer surface area available and the limited surrounding air movement under a natural convection regime. Convection (i.e., movement of heat by air-velocity) can be drastically improved with air movers, but solutions that entail traditional fans add significant volume and do not integrate in the form factor of a current mobile electronic device. Similarly, surface area can be increased with fins, but again this would increase the overall volume of the mobile and give an undesirable industrial look. The application of thermal mitigation techniques for mobiles needs special consideration to enhance heat transfer to the environment by integrating a solution that does not impact the overall system design.